Strictly Come Dancing fans horrified at Craig Revel Horwood’s brutal remarks about Fleur East on It Takes Two

STRICTLY: It Takes Two fans were left open-mouthed as Craig Revel-Horwood delivered some brutal remarks about Fleur East.

Judge Craig joined host Janette Manrara on the spin off show on Thursday, as he revealed the reason why popstar Fleur has ended up in the dance off for a second time.

TV favourite Craig stunned viewers when he admitted that Fleur had not "won the hearts of the nation".

Presenter Janette asked Craig why he thought the Sax hitmaker was in the bottom two again.

"Well, you've got to remember it's a popularity contest," Craig explained.

Janette interjected: "The fifth judge," referring to the viewers at home.

He agreed and said: "Of course it is, so you do have to canvass for votes, now how you do that is up to you.

"I mean you do have to win the hearts and minds of the nation as well."

Craig then drew on a comparison with popstar Alesha Dixon, who won the fifth series of the BBC One dancing competition show and went onto become a judge, after finding herself in the bottom two on three occasions.

He continued: "Fleur is a lovely dancer, she is absolutely gorgeous and let's not forget.

"Other people like Alesha Dixon were in the bottom two for three weeks and then went onto win it and judge it.

"Even if Fleur's in the bottom again, you never know."

Viewers were stunned by Craig's brutal honesty after suggesting Fleur was just not "popular" with viewers at home.

One wrote: "Craig explaining a bit more why Fleur always ends up in the dance-off challenge. #ItTakesTwo"